BLOG

Productivity in the Workplace

Productivity in the Workplace

Productivity has been a word at the forefront of many conversations in the last six months. It has become a key focus in the Government’s plan for Apprenticeships with the aim to improve the overall productivity levels of the UK economy.

“Good productivity is the foundation for growth in the economy and in individual incomes; yet currently, our productivity is poor compared with international competitors. It stands at approximately 20% below that of the rest of the G7, and is lower still compared to that of Germany, France or the United States.”

Increasing productivity in the work place isn’t an easy task. You can’t force employees to work harder and enforcing rules to help doing so can be more detrimental that a success. The key to increasing productivity is making your employees want to work harder. This is down to a pleasant working environment, creating positive relationships between team members and ensuring they feel valued.

We’ve outlined our Top 5 ways to boost employee productivity:

Recognition

According to the SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey companies that practiced value-based recognition experienced a 32% increase in productivity. Here are some ways you can acknowledge recognition (not just incentives) of your employees:

On-going Rewards

By having monthly, quarterly on annual Awards in place can really motivate employees to continue their hard-work over a long period. The awards can praise hard-work, new business, one-off achievements oPr however an employee has complimented your business throughout the time frame. Including a peer-nominated award can help boost morale amongst each other.

Make it Personal

As an employer, simply recognising a staff member’s birthday can add value to their role. Sending a personal card or treating the team to a birthday cake to mark the occasion creates a feeling of value and appreciation.

Spontaneous Recognition

Encourage your employees to highlight to Management when a colleague has done something positive that particularly caught their attention. This ensures even small achievements are acknowledged and given praise.

2. Provide and Encourage Training

This can be either to provide additional support in what could be an area of struggle for an employee or providing the platform to learn new skills or deepen their knowledge in interest areas.

An employee is more likely to be productive if they are confident in a task or know the support is there if it is something they need additional help in doing.

Training gives confidences and confidence leads to productivity.

3. Social Outings

Social outings can increase productivity in two ways:

Giving employees a break!

Whether this be a lunch, afternoon or entire day, having a break from normal routine gives staff a chance to relax their minds in an encouraged environment. Breaks shouldn’t be frowned upon in the work place. Giving opportunities the chance to take a time out is more likely to encourage productivity than hinder it as they will be willing to do more in the time they are there.

Team-building

Social outings give employees the opportunity to interact away from the workload in front of them. The more comfortable your team is with each other, the more likely they are to collaborate and encourage each other in the workplace.

Did you know: A significant factor in poor productivity is the low level of skills in the workforce? Visit our Employer page for information, advice and guidance on how B-Skill can help you improve the skills of your employees!